Maaseik, Belgium, December 11, 2011. Belgium’s Noliko MAASEIK can barely wait for its second home match in the prelims of the 2012 CEV Volleyball Champions League. The team is back on track after the break due to the Olympic pre-qualifiers and the FIVB World Cup and will be playing this Tuesday Bulgaria’s CSKA SOFIA. “Our opponent has got a lot of experienced players” says head coach Vital Heynen. “My young guys have to cope with this and make sure that they do not underestimate our next rival. After losing their first games in this competition the Bulgarians are certainly very motivated but our ambition is to qualify for the next round so our goal is simple: we have to win” he adds.
The mentor of CSKA SOFIA, Aleksandar Popov, hopes his most experienced players will take the responsibility to anchor his side against Noliko: “Players like Nikolay and Evgeny Ivanov shall set the tone and help us go for a good result in Belgium. We pay respect to Noliko but we need to come back with some points” he states.
Both teams are performing well in their respective domestic competitions: Noliko has got a perfect record in the national league with 11 consecutive wins, and the last dating back to Saturday over another Champions League competitor, Euphony ASSE-LENNIK, while CSKA SOFIA recently edged Arda in straight sets.

News nr. 190 of 275

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